Forever
by Gina245368
Summary: What would happen if there were no Hunger Games? If Katniss was a Princess. If Gale and Peeta were Princes. Who will she choose? Will it be her childhood best friend Gale? Or the boy she just met Peeta? Will someone destroy the relationship?
1. Meeting Prince Peeta

When I wake up I feel the soft silk fabric shift underneath me. I yawn and start to sit up. I look around my room. The cream pink walls, the soft silk blue curtains. I look at the wall of books I have. All of the shelves are full of the books I've read. A maid peeks through the door and sees that I'm awake.

"Ah, Princess Katniss. Good morning," She says as she enters the room.

I smile and nod, "Good morning".

Once I hear the water running in the bathroom I get up and start walking towards the sound. I go inside as she exits. I undress and slide into the tub. I sit in the bath for a while and close my eyes. A half an hour later I climb out of the tub and wrap a towel around me. The maid has laid a soft orange dress on my bed with cream orange flats.

I dress quickly, and as soon as I finish I go downstairs to the dining room and sit in my place beside my mother and father. The silence is finally broken when my father speaks up.

"You know you will have to choose soon right Katniss?"

I know what he's talking about. He's saying that I'll have to choose my future husband soon. Peeta Mellark, Prince of the Southern Part of Panem or Gale Hawthorne Prince of the Western Part. Gale has been my best friend since we were little. I haven't really met Peeta, so I don't know what to expect from him.

I nod. "Yes father I know."

"You will have today to meet Peeta Mellark" He reminds me.

"Yes father, I remember."

Once I finish my breakfast the maids take me back to my room. One maid works on my nails as another works on my hair. Once finished, I am taken down to the carriage. Two white horses are strapped to the carriage and I quickly feed them sugar cubes. I climb inside and sit down on the plush interior. I look out the window the entire way to the Southern part of Panem. I see a huge mansion arriving in the distance. The draw bridge lowers and we ride inside. Once they stop I swiftly climb out of the carriage. I walk down the red carpet to the large oak doors.

The King, , opens the door and smiles once he sees me.

"Ah, you must be Princess Katniss."

I smile and nod my head.

"Peeta we have a visitor for you."

"Coming father!" I hear a voice yell.

I then see a boy with dirty blond hair come down. As he comes closer I see that he has blue eyes. He smiles once he sees me. His father waves us off and we walk towards the garden.

"So Princ-"

I cut him off, "Call me Katniss please"

"Alright, so Katniss. Why are you in the Southern Part of Panem?"

"Actually I came to see you"

I notice that he turn a shade of red as if he was embarrass by my comment "Oh really?"

I nod my head "Yes. I thought it was about time I met Prince Peeta Mellark"

He stays quiet for a while. Once we pass the rose bushes he picks a red and white rose. He hands both to me and I smile.

A few hours later we were walking on the beach. My flats were in my hand so the waves wouldn't ruin them. Just as sunset happened he spoke up again.

"So.. um.. Katniss... I was wondering"

I looked at him, "Yes Peeta?"

"Would you like to go... out... sometime? You don-"

I smile, "I would love to go out sometime"

We walk back to the castle and just as I was about to leave I stand up on my tippy toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you for a wonderful day Peeta" I smile and wave to him once I got into the carriage.

I watch him lean against the door frame and watch the carriage take off. I spend the rest of the evening thinking about Peeta Mellark.


	2. You'll have to choose one

I stare outside of the bedroom window. I watch the horses run free in the meadow with the dandelions brushing against their legs. I sigh and leans against the cold, window. I long for freedom outside the castle. I hear a soft tap against my bedroom door. I look over my shoulder at the door but no one comes in.  
"Hello?" I ask.  
No answer. I get up and walk towards the door. I speak more clearly now.  
"Hello." I demand.  
Still no answer. I open the door and peak outside to the hallways. No ones there. I pick up the bottom of my dress and start walking down the long corridor. I finally get to the grand stair case where I see all the butlers and maids working as usual.  
_How Strange_. I thought to myself. I walk down the stairs and walk towards the kitchen. Suddenly a large tan hand covers my mouth and pulls me into a closet. I try to scream and I start kicking my way free. I finally break loose and I fall on the floor. I look up and see those big gray eyes staring down at me and a smile forming on his face. Gale.  
"Damn you Gale" I yell at him.  
He laughs. "Sorry Catnip, just thought I should be checking in on my best friend."  
I roll my eyes. I get up and walk out of the closet. He follows me to the kitchen.  
"Why are you here Gale?"  
"Just thought I should be around my best friend before she chooses who she's going to marry"  
I don't answer to that. He knows that I'll have to choose between him or Prince Peeta. I get an apple from a maid and start walking towards the garden to get to the stables. He follows me all the way. I get to the center of the garden before I see a familiar blond haired, blue eyed guy.  
"Hello Katniss." He speaks as clear as a song bird.  
Gale stares at him. "What are you doing here?" He snaps at him.  
"I came to see her." Peeta points to me. He walks over to me and hands me two red roses. I smile as I take them.  
They both stare at me and say at the same time in a hissful voice. "You'll have to choose one of us, you can't have us both."  
And then, I wake up.


	3. I-I'm Sorry

I lay in bed all day. I have piles of books beside me, but I don't read them. I just have them there incase if I get bored. I just think about my dream. Peeta or Gale. Peeta or Gale. I can't decide..  
I finally get up. I change into a flowing pink dress that only goes to my knees. I slide on highheels even though I hate them. I make my way downstairs and into the garden. I need fresh air. I walk around all of the tulips and daises before I see the stables in the meadow. I walk over and pet Blackjack. He's truely my only horse. The others belong to my parents.  
Blackjack is a black stallion, with a dark mane with one streak of white in it. He's been with me since I was little. That's a very long time for a horse. And I know what you're thinking. How can a horse live that long? 14 years? Well... it's like, as long as I am here to protect him, he's safe and young. He protects me and I protect him. He's truely a part of the family.  
I unhatch him from his stall and buckle a saddle onto his back. I climb onto him swiftly and take a firm grasp on his reins. I make a soft click sound and he starts trotting out of the stables. I ride him around the entire kingdom and past it. We go into the village. The village that connects all three kingdoms together.  
"Princess Katniss" A young man bowed.  
I smile as I ride Blackjack through the village. Then I see something unexpecting. The thing I've been thinking about and trying to avoid all day. I see Prince Peeta and Prince Gale in village.  
I try to avoid them in the village by making a turn, but I guess they both saw me because they turn down the same road I did.  
"Hello Catnip"  
"Hey Katniss"  
"Hello Gale, Peeta"  
"Why are you in the village?" Peeta asks.  
"I could be asking both of you the same thing."  
Then all of a sudden a loud explosion happens. I start seeing smoke rising from my castle. The only thought that comes across my mind is my father.. My mother is out visiting her sister. Father.  
I pull on Blackjack's reins and soon we're galloping through the village trying to get to the castle. Gale and Peeta are behind us. Everybody has concerned looks on their faces. I barely pay any attention to them. I'm just trying to get to my father as quick as possible. I finally get to the entrance. I hop off Blackjack so quickly I don't even bother to tie him up. I run inside the building.  
_Where are you?_ I think to myself. I run upstairs and I see him in the hallway. He's on the ground holding his chest.  
"Daddy!" I screech out. Tears start forming in my eyes. I run to him. I carefully fall to my knees when I get to him. Peeta and Gale are standing in the corridor watching us.  
"K-Kat-Katniss" He barely managed to say.  
A tear falls from my cheek. "I'm so sorry daddy.. I should have been here sooner."  
He puts his hand against my cheek. "It's not your fault Katniss...You couldn't have stop this."  
Then I'm pulled away by one of the maids as a butler brings up the doctor. They're running towards us. I sit against the wall, tears falling from my cheeks as they try to help my father. _It's too late._ I think. I look down at my hands, they're covered in red._ He lost too much blood_. As I think this more tears form and fall. I look back up and I see him. He's pale like all the life has been drained out of him right then and there. He's not moving.. I don't see his chest moving at all. I start crying harder. I cover my face into my red stained hands and I weep for my father.  
_My father. My father that cared for everyone, has just been ripped away from me._ Peeta and Gale try to get me up but I don't dare to move a muscle. I can't handle it. Then before I even realized it, I'm back in my bedroom. They carried me down the hallway to my room. I sit on my bed staring at my floors. I can't even begin to process what has just happened before my eyes.


	4. Always

My mother came home a few days ago. She's been up in her bedroom ever since. I can't go to sleep at nights.. not anymore. The nightmares haunt my dreams. I can never forget the last look I saw on my father's face. His voice telling me it wasn't my fault. The duke said that the northern part of the castle was on fire, that explains the smoke. Nobody knows who shot the gun that killed my father.

I sit in the garden, wearing a baby blue dress. I look down at the rose I have in my hand. It's a white rose but the tips of the petals are blue. I'm afraid to leave the house again, risking that the person who killed my father would kill my mother. I can't loose both of my parents. I just can't. Soon Peeta comes over and comforts me. I stay in his arms for a while before I speak.

"I can't believe I lost him" I murmur in his chest. He strokes my hair softly and whispers in my ear, but I can't hear him. I hug him tightly and whisper to him. "I don't want to loose you"

He's taken by surprise by this, but he hugs me back and kisses my forehead. "You won't loose me, I promise."

We're wondering around the castle hand-in-hand. I find some hiding places that I haven't noticed before. When we find one, and I slide in. He comes in after me. It's a tight fit and our faces are only inches apart from the others. He leans down and kisses me softly. It's a warm feeling. I get a tingly feeling in the pit of my stomach and I return the kiss. When we got out of the place my cheeks are dark red. He chuckles lightly. I roll my eyes at him and lead him out to the stables.  
I unhook Blackjack from his stall and I take out a white horse for Peeta.  
I put the saddles on the horses and I climb onto Blackjack. I tighten the reins and he starts trotting along. Peeta's horse comes up beside us. I smile at him and he reaches out for my hand. I take his and we intertwine our fingers. We ride our horses to the beach and they walk along the shoreline.

Soon we're sitting on the beach and I'm in his lap. My head against his chest.  
We watch the sunset and soon the stars come out. I yawn and he picks me up. He puts me on his horse and gets on behind me. Blackjack trots behind us as we ride back to the castle. He puts the horses away and carries me up to my room.  
He lays me in my bed and he starts walking out towards the door. I quickly catch his hand.  
"Wait. Peeta.. don't go.. stay.. please? With me?"  
He looks at me and then smiles. He sits beside me in my bed. He strokes my cheek softly and whispers,  
"Always."


	5. I think I've made my choice

When I wake up, Peeta is still asleep next to me. I look up at him and I smile. He looks so peaceful in his sleep. I feel like someone is watching me. I look towards the door and there he is. A tall, muscular man with grey eyes and tan skin. Gale.

"Gale, what are you doing here?" I start to sit up.

"What is _he_ doing here?"

Peeta starts mumbling in his sleep. "Answer me and I'll answer you" I tell him quietly.

"I was coming to check on you.. but I guess lover boy over here beat me to it." He starts coming towards the bed, my eyes are locked on his. He grabs Peeta by the collar of his shirt and is half way across the room before Peeta is fully awake and is aware of what is happening.

"Let go of me!" He yells. Then he punches Gale in the stomach and falls to the floor. He starts standing up when Gale punches him in the face. His nose starts trickling blood.

"Both of you stop!" I scream, I run inbetween them. "Stop this or I'll kick both of you out."

Peeta straightens up and looks at me. "I'm sorry Katniss.."

Gale doesn't say anything, he just stares at Peeta with a death look. Peeta quietly excuses himself to the bathroom. Gale finally looks at me and takes my hands. "Katniss... come with me.."

I'm taken by surprise by this. "W-what do you mean?"

"Run away with me."

"G-Gale.. I can't I belong here with my mum..." _And Peeta _I think to myself.

Gale's eyes stay on mine but he is starting to let go.

"Gale..One day a girl will come along and..and she's going to make you so happy..I'm not that girl.."

Gale looks down, "You could be though."

I smile sadly at him, "We're best friends Gale... I love you like my brother, It just wouldn't be the same."

Gale looks at me and then strokes my cheek softly, "Make sure he takes good care of you or I might have to come back and make some arrangements"

I smile at him, "I'll see you soon, okay? This isn't goodbye forever."

He shakes his head, "No.. I couldn't live without my Catnip."

He gives me a hug and a kiss on the forehead, "I'll see you soon Catnip." I look over my shoulder just as Peeta walks out the bathroom. "Hey lover boy, make sure you take good care of this one.. Don't let her slip away." With that he walks out the door without looking back, I go over and sit on my bed thinking about all that has happened.. Meeting Peeta, Our first kiss, Me loosing my father, then Gale in my bedroom...

Peeta looks at me and I look at him. I smile and he comes. He wraps his arms around me. He finally breaks the silence. "You aren't planning on leaving me are you?"

I look up at him and smile, "No"

He smiles and kisses me softly. Not a passionate kiss, but a soft kiss that leaves me wanting for more. He pulls away too soon and I sigh. He chuckles quietly and takes my hand, "Come love, I could teach you to bake today"

I smile and think to myself_.Won't we have the rest of forever to do that?_ I think I've made my choice... but I don't think he realized yet.


	6. What's that?

We spend the afternoon in the kitchen. I sit on the counter while Peeta gets all the supplies out. I swing my legs back and forth,when he looks at me. "Aren't you going to help?"

I smile. "Maybe, maybe not." I look down and see the bag of flour opened. I pick some up and throw it at him.

"Hey!" He picks up a bag of sugar, but I get up and run around the kitchen with him chasing me. I look back at him and smile. I run back to where we were and pick up the bag of flour and starts throwing some at him. He covers me in sugar. I start laughing to hard and before I know it he crushed an egg on my head.

"Hey!" I yell at him as I try to wipe it all off.

"Oops." He laughs and goes back to making the dough for bread. After I get it all out of my hair, I wrap my arms around his waist from behind. I lean my forehead against his back smiling. He starts to move and gets his way out of my arms. I sit back on the counter as he washes his hands. He slides the bread pan in the oven and looks at me.

"So much for teaching you how to bake today." He says.

I smile, "Oh well, we have plently of time for it." I start blushing at my own comment. _Did I really just say that to him?_ He looks at me confused but just shakes it off. He picks me up off the counter and carries me to the garden. I sit down on the bench and pick a flower. _A Katniss flower_. I smile. Peeta sits down next to me and wraps his arm around me. I sit closer to him without me actually being on his lap.

He looks down at me and kisses my cheek. I blush softly. "Katniss?"

"Yes?"

"When you said 'we have plently of time'... did you mean that we're going to be together for a long time?" I turn a darker shade of red when I hear him ask this.

"Uh...umm..."

He smiles and tilts my head up. He kisses me softly and whispers to me, "It's alright, I think we'll be together for at least forever."

I smile and leans my forehead against his. I whisper to him, "I love you."

He leans back and looks at me. "Really?" He asks as if he doesn't believe me. I nod in response. "Katniss... You have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear you say that...I-I remember when we first started going to school together and my father picked you out to me... I saw you and I started smiling, I didn't know what it was back then but a few years after I started falling in love with you.

"I remember listening to you sing in music assembly class, and I swear every bird outside that window fell silent. I remember how your hair was in two braids instead of one.. I remember that red-plaid dress that you wore. I remember everything about you" My cheeks turn dark red as I smile.

"I remember that day." I start off saying. "My dad was taking me to school, and I was skipping along beside him. My braids were bouncing all around and then once we got there I stopped and he walked me to class. I remember standing up on the stool, looking around the class. Then, I saw you. Our eyes locked on each other's and I smiled. I started singing and then once I finished I sat down. I could never forget that day."

He smiles and pulls me into his lap. He kisses my forehead and sighs happily. "I love you Katniss Everdeen."

I smile, "I love you too Peeta Mellark." We spend most of the evening in the garden. Then I take his hands and lead him back into the castle to the dining room. My mother joins us for dinner. We had tomato soup first. Next we had a small fresh garden salad. Then we had lamb stew with dried plums, one of my favorites. Finally we had desert. It was a brownie with ice cream on top. It was yummy. Once we finished I take Peeta's hand again and we go up to my room.

We lay down in my bed, my head on his chest, his arms wrapped around me. Him stroking my hair softly. I yawn and soon I catch myself falling asleep.

"Katniss?" I hear him in an audible whisper.

"Yes?"

"We're going to be together forever right?"

I smile. "Yes...Forever."

I feel him relax and I close my eyes. "Goodnight my love."

Then I drift off to sleep.

The next day I awake but I keep my eyes shut. I don't feel anyone else on the bed. I pat around on the bed. "Peeta?" I finally sit up and open my eyes. _Where is he?_ I climb out of bed and I go down the stairs. I hear his voice in the kitchen along with Mary, Richard and Joe. Our butlers and maid.

"Do you think she'll like it?" I hear Peeta's voice ask.

"She'll love it." Mary says.

_What are they talking about?_ I shrug and go back upstairs to my room. I go in the bathroom and take a long shower. I change into a soft, bouncy , yellow dress and walk out. Peeta's sitting on my bed playing with something in his hands. "What's that?" I ask him.

He smiles. "Just something I'm saving for later."

I smile and shrug it off. There's not much to do in the kingdom so when he asks me , I'm clueless. We decide to go off into the village. We wonder around for a little while hand-in-hand. Then, after we deicide to go for a carriage ride. We climb into a brown wagon that is lead by two Pinto horses. I wave to the villagers that I know and they wave back.

Soon after Peeta decides we should go to the beach. When we sit down in the sand the water is barely touching us. Peeta looks nervous like something's wrong. After a while I can't take it anymore. "Peeta what's wrong?" I ask him.

"Oh..urm... uh..." He trips over his own words. I don't know what to expect,but I look down and there's something sticking out of his pocket. It's a small black edge. Maybe it's part of a box? "Katniss..?" He pulls the box out and slowly opens it, revealing not a large big shiny ring, but a small and simple ring, that twinkles in the sunlight.


	7. Hello all of you

Hello everybody. I think I will post one more chapter of this story and then I will end it. Don't worry though! I will have more stories, I can promise you that. It's just that after a while, one prompt gets boring. So, anyways... There will only be one.. maybe two. Chapters left of this story. So, thank you all for reading this story. It's a big thing to me. It's one thing to get 1,000 views but over 2,000?! Oh my gosh that's just so amazing. Thank you.. All of you for everything! :) See ya soon .


	8. Forever

Everybody went crazy when they heard me and Peeta were to be wed. They started shouting out franticly and they were ushering all around the place. I laugh at how I remark that memory well. That was four months ago. And now I stand in a long white silky dress covered in jewels. I look at myself in the mirror, how much I grew. It's crazy to think that just a few months ago I met Peeta.  
"Katniss...It's almost time." My mother comes in and puts my hair up into a braided bun,placed with a blue clip. I take a shaky breath and look around the room. I pick up my bouquet and start to walk out the door. My mother follows me. I stand quietly in place when I hear my mother speak for the second time since my father's death. "You look beautiful"  
"Thank you." I say.  
"Your father would be very proud."  
I take a deep breath as the music begins. The ballroom has been decorated in flowers and never has been more beautiful. There was endless rows of white and blue chairs filled with guests. But I didn't really care about the guest, the person I cared about was at the end of the isle waiting for me. I slowly start to walk down the isle. It took everything I had not to run to that boy in the white suit with the baby blue tie.  
When I finally make it to him I get lost so easily into his eyes. Then without realizing it, I say the words. "I do." I slide his ring onto his finger and look up at him smiling. He says the words and slides the ring onto my finger. Next thing I knew he was kissing me, and the crowd was cheering. When I pull away, I see a tan boy with gray eyes in a suit. He was standing in the back of the room. He smiles at me and I can't help but smile back.  
The rest of the night went by in a blur. So many hugs and congratulations. So many wedding gifts. Then at the reception area, there was a huge feast filled with foods that even I didn't know existed. I wanted to taste them all and by the look on Peeta's face, so did he. I went to the first table taking only bites of each dish and handing Peeta the rest. Then once we got to the dessert table we saw a huge wedding cake.  
Next thing I knew, we were being pulled out onto the dance floor for the first dance as husband and wife. We don't dance for long and nobody seems to notice because soon the floor is filled with dancing couples. We sit down at one of the tables, and we look up at the stage when people start making toasts.  
An hour later we're walking hand-in-hand on the beach, just like we did on our first date. We sit, and watch the sunset. I whisper to him, "Do you love me?"  
Peeta nods and whispers "Now until Forever."  
We spend the rest of the night in each other's arms, embracing each other for when Forever comes.


	9. Our Happily Ever After

A few years later, my mother passed away leaving Peeta and I to run the kingdom. We had two children, a boy and a girl. The boy had Peeta's blonde curls and my gray eyes. We named him John, after Peeta's father. The girl had my dark, brown hair, and Peeta's bright, blue eyes. We named her Annie after one of my childhood best friends. She still came around a lot to see the kids and us. We haven't heard from Gale in quite a while, but the last time I heard from him, he was getting hitched.  
We've been through a lot together, but Peeta understood me in a different way that I guess Gale never could. I'll always love Gale in a big brother way, but never in the way that he loves me. My heart belongs to Peeta, and it's been that way all along. I've just haven't realized what I was missing until I found him.  
We sit now on the beach, the waves coming up and greeting us as they always did. The kids played in the water, as we sat on the shore our hands intertwined. They never knew what happened to my father, and I guess I'll have to tell them one day, but surely not anytime soon. The nightmares still come from that, even though it has been years. My mother died when Annie was born, but John was able to meet her seeing as he was two years older than Annie. Peeta still whispers to me that 'It's alright' when the nightmares come, and I know it will be. We have each other and our two wonderful kids. As I look up at him now, I noticed there was a dark tint in his eyes. It might have been hope, because I know that he always has hope for the future.  
He catched me looking at him and smiled, "Are you alright kitten?" I smile and nod. We watched the sunset and the kids come up back towards us telling us they're ready to go home. As we walked home, I realized that everything has turned out okay for us and that we got our Happily Ever After

* * *

**~Author's Note~**  
I didn't feel right leaving the book off on their wedding day so I decided it to end it with their happily ever after. I hope you guys enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'm working on two other stories now and I hope you guys will check those out too. Thanks again, for being amazing fans throughout this time. I'll see you guys soon.


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